The move by Team Boris to scrap Ken Livingstone's cheap oil deal with Venezuela was entirely predictable. It would be naïve to attribute the decision to Boris as an individual. A nervous Tory Central Office will not be allowing Boris to make decisions as an individual any time soon. They are only too well aware that Boris knows nothing about local government. So a shadow troika of "businessmen" (many of whose expertise is entirely in asset stripping), spin doctors and suburban councillors will actually be guiding the fortunes of our great city. Boris himself will be kept well away from City Hall, posing for photographs and wining and dining with his old friends from the Spectator.

So what does this early decision tell us about Team Boris? It is obviously an ideological gesture. And, in one sense, that is understandable. Ken's links with Chavez were partly ideological in content. Tory and neocon journalists in this country have conspired to depict Chavez as a sinister buffoon. In fact he has raised the living standards of the poor in his own country, is one of the most popular politicians in Latin America and has posed an important challenge to globalisation. So there was every reason for a left-wing London mayor to align with him. And every reason for the right-wing cabal currently running London to distance themselves from him.

But what Team Boris has missed about the Venezuelan oil deal was that it was actually good for Londoners. At a time when politicians all over the world are panicking over rising oil prices, only a group of bigoted suburban councillors would toss away a cheap oil deal that any other group of politicians in any other city would bite off your hand for. Team Boris has made a half-hearted attempt to claim that they scrapped the deal out of concern for the poor of Venezuela. But, by cutting out the middle man (oil traders, etc), the benefit of the deal to Londoners is greater than the cost to Venezuela. And London was also offering technical advice and support in return. Furthermore, none of those who made the decision has ever before shown any interest in the poor of Latin America.

The most immediate consequence of the deal was that 56,000 Londoners on income support benefited from cheaper fares. But, when the current deal runs out, they will see their fares doubled. Team Boris is well aware of this simply does not care. And this is the key indicator for the future. Going all the way back to his days on the Greater London Council, whenever ideology ran counter to the interests of ordinary people in London, Ken was always willing to dump ideology (even if it upset his most radical supporters). This was part of his enduring popularity with Londoners (remember even in defeat Ken polled 20 points ahead of Labour nationally). Team Boris will be the exact opposite. Pandering to the prejudices of suburbia will always be more important than helping the most vulnerable Londoners.